Despite having travelled all over Italy, it took me until my mid-40s to visit Lake Como \u2013 and even then it only happened because my brother-in-law and his soon-to-be-fianc\u00e9e were keen to come over from the States and see the Italian lakes. I\u2019d convinced myself it was going to be overly touristy, full of celebrity-spotters and that the locals would hate us \u2013 in short, that we were going to be \u201cpart of the problem\u201d. And perhaps in Bellagio in August, that would have been the case. But staying in Nesso in late September, we couldn\u2019t have felt more welcome. Prices were as reasonable as elsewhere in Italy. And more to the point, Lake Como really was as stunningly beautiful as it was cracked up to be. Needless to say, my foodie mission had begun.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.amsterdamfoodie.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lake-Como-restaurants-Pinterest-and-hero-image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
What to eat and drink in Lake Como<\/h2>\n
Before our trip, I read a useful primer on Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveller<\/a> about the food around Lake Como. The authors spoke of the fish (which of course makes sense \u2013 it\u2019s a vast lake, after all), the Milan-style risotto, and the hearty polenta that\u2019s a specialty of the mountains surrounding the lake. It sounded (and indeed was) a far cry from the pasta and pizza associated with elsewhere in the country \u2013 although those are of course available as well for those who can\u2019t visit Italy without a dose of tomato sauce.<\/p>\n As a wine lover, I was also interested to discover Lombardy\u2019s wines. The countryside surrounding the lake is mostly wooded \u2013 with very little planted to vines \u2013 but beyond the immediate vicinity there\u2019s plenty to explore. I especially enjoyed the Valtellina: Nebbiolo-based red wines that felt ethereal and elegant in comparison to the heft of their Barolo cousins from Piedmont. There\u2019s also lovely sparkling wine: Franciacorta and its more local equivalent, both made using the traditional (Champagne) method. Plus I can\u2019t say no to an Alpine Chardonnay. I brought back all these and more when we left, and I\u2019d urge you to try them while you\u2019re there as they can be hard to come by elsewhere.<\/p>\n Lake perch and buttery risotto<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Before you can discover the delights of polenta and Valtellina, you\u2019re going to need to get to Lake Como. Here are a few trip essentials to start:<\/p>\n It\u2019s a tourist clich\u00e9, but we really did fall in love with Nesso. Around a 30-minute drive northeast of the city of Como, which sits at the southern tip of the lake, Nesso is home to the much-photographed Ponte della Civera (bridge) and Orrido di Nesso (gorge and waterfall) \u2013 both worth a visit, even if you\u2019re not staying there. A series of narrow switchback roads, no wider than I am tall, lead either down to the lakefront swimming spots or up to vertiginous views across to the other side. And it\u2019s perhaps this bias that means that two of my favourite restaurants were in Nesso itself\u2026<\/p>\n Right next to the aforementioned waterfall, this little osteria-con-enoteca<\/em> served us one of the most inventive meals we ate in Lake Como. Arguably fine dining, but without a fancy price tag. Three amuse-bouches were brought out before we even started on the real thing: beef-stewy gyoza, peppy little balls of salted fish and bites of pumpkin that were both creamy and crunchy. My favourite primo<\/em> was a spaghetti dish that shall henceforth be known as \u201cMurder in the Bathtub\u201d (my words, not theirs) for its beetroot colour and citrus-chilli foam. Then a classic Como dish of lake perch and sage leaves \u2013 both breaded, fried to a golden crisp and served with a buttery parmesan risotto. Our other secondo<\/em> was called the \u201cChimera\u201d: a Frankenstein-ed animal consisting of pork belly and wild boar, pressed together to form something newly meaty, with the crunch of pork skin on top and the gaminess of wild boar jus beneath.<\/p>\n \u201cMurder in the Bathtub\u201d (not really!) at Osteria dell\u2019Orrido<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Osteria dell\u2019Orrido<\/a> doubles as a wine bar and wine shop for the village, so you can expect an excellent list of vino<\/em> too. Unfortunately, our Valtellina Sassella that night had a distinct whiff of tyre rubber about it (which I didn\u2019t fully pick up until after it had been served) but I don\u2019t blame ODO for that. Service and atmosphere was lovely throughout, made cosier by the log-cabin interior.<\/p>\n While my first Nesso pick had no outdoor space, my second makes up for it with not one but two lake-front terraces. Briisa de Ness<\/a> was recommended by our Airbnb hosts as the best restaurant in town, and I can see why. As well as the sweeping views, the restaurant has its own wood-fired pizza oven for those looking for their Italian pizza fix.<\/p>\n Unbeatable views (and wine) at Briisa de Ness<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Instead, I went more local and chose the lake trout tartare with accents of lemony cream and edible flowers, followed by an autumnal dish of slow-cooked veal cheek with chunky mashed root veg. Both were excellent with another bottle of \u2013 you\u2019ve guessed it \u2013 local Nebbiolo (often called Chiavennasca, if you happen to see that on wine lists).<\/p>\n We only went to Bellagio for a day trip (which was frankly quite enough) and I didn\u2019t have high hopes for the restaurants there. My research hadn\u2019t turned up much, but after a bit of wandering we chanced upon bStyle Bellagio<\/a>, which was thankfully a lot better than its name suggests. I recommend ordering their local pasta dish, known as pizzoccheri<\/em> (also confusingly named, when I think about it): thick ribbons of buckwheat pasta, cooked with potatoes and greens, dressed with more sage, butter and parmesan. It\u2019s a dish that challenges everything you\u2019ve come to expect from Italian pasta. And needless to say, it went perfectly with a crisp glass of Lombardy Chardonnay. bStyle\u2019s service was also attentive and friendly, although their sideline in blingy accessories wasn\u2019t really for me!<\/p>\n Pizzoccheri at bStyle Bellagio<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Continuing the buckwheat theme, we come to the mountains high above Bellagio, Lezzeno and Nesso. Here, polenta is king: the more calorific the better. And given all the calories you\u2019re about to consume, your best bet is to drive up the mountain from Bellagio past Piano Rancio and into San Primo where you can park, and then hike the remaining steep but well-trodden climb up to Rifugio Martina<\/a> (it takes about 30 minutes, depending on how often you stop to admire the views). Along the way, you\u2019ll encounter all sorts of flora and fauna, including horned cattle and the inimitable sound of their cowbells, donkeys who don\u2019t seem to mind a pet, and of course breathtaking scenery from 1300 metres up.<\/p>\n Polenta uncia at Rifugio Martina<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After all that, you\u2019ll be ready for polenta uncia<\/em>, which is as unctuous as the name makes it sound. A nutty mixture of buckwheat and corn polenta, drenched in melted butter, mountain cheese and slivers of golden-fried garlic. I wanted to stick my face in it. We tried a few of Martina\u2019s other takes on polenta too, and the version with sausage and lentil stew came a close second. You probably don\u2019t want to do this polenta hike on a sweltering day in July, but you can\u2019t beat it at the end of a misty morning in autumn. Rental car<\/a>, hiking shoes and reservation required.<\/p>\n Back down to Bellagio for some well-deserved wine. Cava Turacciolo<\/a> is an atmospheric little enoteca<\/em> in a cellar-like space down an unprepossessing alleyway. I opted for a flight of three local wines, which turned out to be three full glasses (yikes!) so I pretty much rolled onto the ferry afterwards. From what I can remember, the first was a refreshing Alpine white blend of Chardonnay and Savvy B, while the rest were both reds. A Valtellina Superiore and a Sforzato di Valtellina \u2013 the latter being a Nebbiolo made using the same method as Amarone. More spicy, less sweet, just as delicious! Our server Matteo was a star, talking us through all the wines and making sure we left Bellagio on a high note.<\/p>\n Sforzato di Valtellina at Cava Turacciolo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite having travelled all over Italy, it took me until my mid-40s to visit Lake Como \u2013 and even then it only happened because my brother-in-law and his soon-to-be-fianc\u00e9e were keen to come over from the States and see the Italian lakes. I\u2019d convinced myself it was going to be overly touristy, full of celebrity-spotters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7071504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11765],"tags":[13662,30488,2059,3931,12767],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7071503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amsterdam","tag-como","tag-foodies","tag-guide","tag-lake","tag-restaurants"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.amsterdamfoodie.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lake-como-restaurants-lake-perch.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPlanning your trip to Lake Como<\/h2>\n
\n
Best restaurants around Lake Como (east bank)<\/h2>\n
ODO \u2013 Osteria dell\u2019Orrido, Nesso<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.amsterdamfoodie.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lake-como-restaurant-osteria-dell-orrido.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBriisa de Ness, Nesso<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.amsterdamfoodie.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lake-como-restaurant-briisa-de-nesso.jpg\")
<\/p>\nbStyle bellagio, Bellagio<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.amsterdamfoodie.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lake-como-restaurant-bstyle-bellagio.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRifugio Martina, San Primo<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.amsterdamfoodie.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lake-como-restaurant-rifugio-martina.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCava Turacciolo, Bellagio<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.amsterdamfoodie.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lake-como-enoteca-Cava-Turacciolo-Bellagio.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPlanning a trip to Italy? Check out my guides to <\/em>Rome<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Lucca (Tuscany)<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Salento (Puglia)<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Ortigia (Sicily)<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Northern Sardinia<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"